Peak Condition Update | Crestone Peak

Peak:	Crestone Peak
Route:	South Face
Range:	Sangre de Cristo
Posted By:	Nelson
Date of Info:	8/18/2016
Date Posted:	8/19/2016

Details
There has been heavy rain in this area for the last 2 days for about 3 hours a day. This has been accompanied by significant grapple/snow in some but not all areas. The south facing aspects of the Crestones and Broken Hand Pass had grapple pooling of 2-3 inches in places. This made for slippery conditions on rock and made for very wet conditions around Cottonwood lake. I turned around in the bottom of the Red Gully as it was much to slippery for my taste. I have a photo of the south side of Broken Hand Peak illustrating my point. I would have taken more but I was on a dead run to beat the weather at 10 am!

Details

There has been heavy rain in this area for the last 2 days for about 3 hours a day. This has been accompanied by significant grapple/snow in some but not all areas. The south facing aspects of the Crestones and Broken Hand Pass had grapple pooling of 2-3 inches in places. This made for slippery conditions on rock and made for very wet conditions around Cottonwood lake. I turned around in the bottom of the Red Gully as it was much to slippery for my taste. I have a photo of the south side of Broken Hand Peak illustrating my point. I would have taken more but I was on a dead run to beat the weather at 10 am!

Comments or Questions

gjohnston89	Grapple? 8/19/2016 9:22pm Is grapple the dip and dot looking snow or what is the term for exactly? Just curious i havent heard that used before really.
Nelson	Grappel 8/20/2016 5:20am I believe it is hail, maybe with a mixture of snow. It looks like bb's of various size. I first heard it used in discussions of avalanche conditions (bad layer).
gjohnston89	Grappel 8/20/2016 9:36am Right on, in that case there was a dusting of it on Mt evans and Bierstadt Thursday morning. I thought it was pretty cool haha. Almost tempted to eat it.
AlexeyD	A grappling question 8/20/2016 10:47am It's a real grapple How to spell "grapple" Or is it "grappel"? Heck, maybe "grappul" So more the awful That it's spelled "graupel" Even though "graupel" Is pronounced like "apple".
AlexeyD	more on graupel 8/20/2016 10:51am It's actually not hail, but rime-covered snowflakes.
Nelson	Graupel 8/20/2016 3:33pm Ok guys, I looked it up: Graupel ist ein deutsces Wort. It is the German word for hailstone Ich luge nicht.
Nelson	Graupel 8/20/2016 3:34pm Ok guys, I looked it up: Graupel ist ein deutsches Wort. It is the German word for hailstone Ich luge nicht.
gjohnston89	Graupel 8/20/2016 3:58pm So it seems that those in the Duetschland have a funny accent. I also looked it up and after much research i discovered its other nickname is, soft-hail lol. And that it does lead to severe avalanches occasionally.
crowdsurf	Corn Snow 8/25/2016 4:47pm Not sure if this is correct but I have heard it called corn snow. I think this is a mid-western term though. German mountaineering terms sound cooler.
Nelson	Firn 8/25/2016 7:16pm Corn snow is what you get in Spring. The Germans call it Firn. The French call it "la neige du printemps." Fun to ski.

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